1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to vine harvesters. More particularly, the invention relates to an assembly line type harvester for sweet potatoes.
2. Prior Art
The following Patents are found in the prior art:
______________________________________ INVENTOR DATE ISSUED U.S. Pat. No. ______________________________________ United States Patents F. L. Hill et al May 24, 1966 3,252,520 A. F. Clarke Oct. 16, 1906 833,705 M. C. Lehde et al Aug. 17, 1965 3,200,888 G. H. Manuel Aug. 3, 1965 3,198,259 W. B. Pridy July 28, 1959 2,896,728 S. Csimma Sept. 12, 1967 3,340,935 Bettencourt et al Oct. 19, 1976 3,986,561 O. L. Looker et al Jan. 31, 1967 3,301,331 Darryl G. Bettencourt Feb. 18, 1986 4,570,426 E. F. Greedy July 11, 1967 3,330,363 David W. Cayton Oct. 19, 1971 3,613,796 William E. Turold Apr. 21, 1981 4,262,477 George Blanchl Oct. 13, 1981 4,294,063 R. L. Button July 2, 1968 3,390,768 Fred E. Lauridsen, Sr. Aug. 10, 1971 3,597,909 German Patents Heinrich Behn Apr. 20, 1953 874,083 Field Covered: 171/11,27,40,130,20 ______________________________________
Several patents in the prior art demonstrate the use of various methods of harvesting mechanically tomatoes and potatoes and similar vine crops. Since the major elements of the patent In question are the devining process, sorting process, and discharge process, discussion of the art directed toward how those items have been addressed in the past. The concept of using a conveyer with polarity of rods is old in the art. The use of this in connection with an inclined frame is also old in the art. See patent 3,198,259.
Patents differ in their methods of striping vines. The use of rollers is old, as is shown in FIG. 5 of patent 3,198,259 and even the use of multiple rollers, but not the use of multiple rollers with an intervening or inter-traveling vine carrying chain. Similarly, the use of a gap as in patent 561 is old in the art, but not using the gap prior to the travel of a chain through two rollers.
The use of a shaker is old in the art, as shown in patent 561. Similarly, patent 888 uses a series of rollers, but also without having the inter-traveling chain. Again only the motion of the rollers themselves in 888 provides for the movement of the vines through those rollers.
Patent 063 also shows the use of the roller for capturing vines with only the use of a single roller.
On almost all of the patents some conveyer system is used as stands for separating potatoes and therefore this particular technique is old in the art. The improvement of the present inventions' conveyer system is to provide three separate areas for practical separation of potatoes as is done in the in the preferred technique. In the general course of potatoe harvesting three types of potatoes are generally separate from all others. First, large potatoes, then the more numerous regular potatoes which are the main cash crop and finally the smaller or canner potatoes which are used for seed in cold weather or for canning in warmer weather when they will not store for seed. The present inventions merely takes the conveyer technology which is old in the art and applies it to a technique for sorting potatoes according to the quantity of the various types of potatoes which are normally discharged. Additionally it provides shoots as opposed to openings for discharge in order to direct the debris from unwanted potatoes directly to the ground without getting potentially tangled in the workings of the frame.
A series of pallet stands are provided to hold a line of pallets, five pallets being held behind the workers on the main sorting table, two pallets being held in line with the main potatoe discharge, one pallet being held just for jumbo pallets and two pallets being held just forward for the smaller potatoes. This is a modification which is new in the art. Although various techniques have been used for maintaining pallets, this particular arrangement designed for having three different loading areas with the number of pallets which are usually necessary for each different type of potatoe is a new and improved method of providing for pallets to be carried with the equipment.
The most named improvement over the art in this patent is the use of the forklift conveyer. The use of a barrel conveyer is shown in patent 3,198,259. This particular type of discharge is not adequate due to its failure to allow barrels to be lowered without falling and the general lack of control over the potatoes in a drop.
Similar problems which serve to damage pallets occur with patent 190 which merely dumps the pallets to the side.
The present invention is directed toward having an assembly line or just a line of pallets available for loading potatoes as is shown in patent 259 with one or more barrels, but it provides for a larger number of pallets to be used, for the pallets to be added without stopping the harvesting process, provides a superior method of discharging the pallets without damaging them while the process is moving.
3. General Discussion of the Invention
The present invention provides several improvements over the prior art. The major innovations are designed to allow for improved automated devining while allowing several laborers to work a sorting operation efficiently on a movable platform while maintaining reduced weight on said platform and a continuous sorting and unloading process.
One of the major innovations in the invention is a pallet stand and forklift combination. The forklift is a modified elevator for unloading loaded pallets. It has no independent means of movement, but is, to the contrary, pivotably fixed in place onto the frame of the harvester. The forklift can move from its fixed position to the ground and turn at least 90 degrees for receiving or unloading pallets.
The forks are positioned so that they may be turned to receive pallets coming from a conveyor system for pallets. The pivotal mounting allows for the forklift to drop to the ground along its vertical axis and spin ninety degrees along its hosizontal axis so that the loaded pallet is gently lowered to the ground and can easily slide off of the forks which are then returned to the original position for further unloading.
The forklifts are directly fed from a discharge platform which provides a surface for mounting cross chains which are motor driven and carry unloaded pallets under the main conveyor described below for loading. The cross chains also carry loaded pallets onto the forklift described above for discharge. By having the unloaded and loaded pallet abutt, no dropping potatoes are lost when pallets are changed and no worker need get near the dropping potatoes.
To function most efficiently, the forklift arrangement requires a steady stream of pallets to unload. To accomplish this result, a series of endless conveyors are utilized to provide a moving work area, or assembly line. The concept of working an assembly line along a conveyor is in a manner old in the art. The line is improved in several important aspects. First, chutes or slides are provided beside workers, as opposed to open areas in front of workers as seen in the prior art. In this way, the distance between the worker and conveyor is significantly reduced and, more importantly, the refuse is directed away from working parts of the harvester and directly to the ground by the chutes.
Second, the line is set up to allow workers to work both sides of the main conveyor, allowing workers to sort, clean, work and load from the assembly line into pallets located on either side of the assembly line. This allows the rare extra large potatoes to be separately sorted.
Third, conveyors moving in close proximity, in the preferred embodiment, above, in an opposite direction are provided to allow sorted produce to move to alternate unloading areas. The design is made with an eye toward having a number of workers in a labor intensive process in cooperation with mechanized movement. The design, also enhances separation of potatoes into three sizes as is commonly desired.
The endless conveyors are sufficiently narrow so the workers can reach across the conveyors from either working side. Two working sides being provided.
Fourth, a line of pallets is arranged to feed onto the loading platform feed chains and altimately to the forklift and ground.
In order to provide relatively clean potatoes for the sorting process, several improvements are made to the throat or digging portion of the invention. A shovel for digging is utilized for unearthing the potatoes. The shovel is fixed to an improved throat. In a method known in the art, the vines are tangled and entraped in an upper steel chain or roller system comprised of metal bars stretched between endless metal chains. The potatoes are held from the ground by this outer steel rod chain and by a lower inner hook chain.
A major improvement lies in the de-vining apparatus at the top of the throat. The outer chain moves between small roller under a large roller. The potatoes hang from the outer chain and the inner chain reaches its uppermost point of travel and turns back. This leaves the potatoes hanging from the outer chain. As the potatoes hit the smaller roller they swing underneath the smaller roller and are whipped off the vines. Potatoes not so de-vined are clipped off where the top roller meets the bottom roller. The outer chain passes between the two rollers with the vines. Since the roller must give somewhat as the bars of the outer chain move between, the top roller is made of an elatic material, such as a steel drum coated with a rubber cover and is also flexibly held against the chain. This flexibility is accomplished by having the roller mounted on a pivoted axle. The minimum height of the top roller above the outer chanin is controlled by way of an adjustment on the drum axle. A tensioning means, such as a spring or bungle cord can be used to help hold the top roller in place and provide sufficient, adjustable tension to keep the roller in contact with the outer chain.
A larger top roller is used as a larger wheel passes more easily over the chain then a smaller wheel, causing less vibration and less wear and tear on the chain. The smaller roller on the bottom, aproximately 2 inches in diameter is used. Other smaller roller tends to become entangled in the vine or not rotate and a larger roller becomes too large to impart the swinging action to the hanging potatoes. Obviously, the exact size of the roller would vary according to the type of crop or potato harvested or the varying length of vines.
A further object of the invention is to provide compartmentalized construction techniques for primary frame components to hold down costs of construction and repair.
A further object of the invention is to reduce vibration and damage to potatoes.
A further object of the invention is to quicken harvesting.
A further object of the invention is to reduce weigth carried by the harvester.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method of unloading potatoes in an assembly line process comprising steps for mechanized digging and cleaning of potatoes, labor intensive sorting of potatoes and cleaning for potatoes coupled with mechanized movement and mechanized unloading of filled pallets.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become better understood hereinafter from a consideration of the specification with reference to the accompanying drawings forming part thereof, and in which like numerals correspond to parts throughout the several views of the invention.